


Kyrie Eleison

by truth_seeker_1789



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Gen, I promise that I didn't mean to make the Druids sound high, Magic Revealed, Merlin's Magic Revealed, Uther is dead and still a dick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-10 21:12:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10447608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/truth_seeker_1789/pseuds/truth_seeker_1789
Summary: Destiny said the king and his sorcerer were to stand as one, side by side.Destiny lied.





	

##### "Lord Have Mercy"

 

 

  
  
  
  
  
The warning bells were screaming again.  
  
  
  
Sorcery, they cried.  
  
  
  
Fire, they demanded.  
  
  
  
Wrath, they mocked.  
  
  
  
  
Camelot awoke to irons calling all to arms, citizens both great and poor climbing from their beds and keeping their eyes peeled for the magic user, the traitor.  
  
  
The guilty, the sorcerer, an evil monster that dared to enter their borders-  
  
  
  
  
Performing magic was the foulest of sins, the darkest act that any soul could commit.  
  
And anyone who participated in the craft faced only one fate: death.  
  
  
  
  
The bells clanged in the high towers, a harmonious battle cry echoing through the drowsy city, marble painted in pinks and mild yellows with the rising sun.  
  
  
The sorcerer, knowing this city better than the back of his hand, slipped beneath the stairs closest to the castle, the clattering mail of knights crashing above him.  
  
  
  
It had been a stupid folly, a tiny spell used to aid his mentor, his protector, the man he had come to see as a father figure-  
  
  
But he had been caught.  
  
  
  
Instead of the understanding he had hoped for, instead of the support he had yearned for, his king had stared at him with horror, betrayal written clearly in his eyes, shock and rage colouring his cheeks and his voice as he summoned his finest warriors, not allowing a moment for the sorcerer to explain himself.  
  
  
  
  
  
He ran.  
  
  
  
  
  
He raced through the halls he had come to call home, sprinted across cobblestones, skidded behind columns, and leapt down full flights of stairs.  
  
  
His secret was out. His king- his brother in all but blood- despised him, as he had all of his kind.  
  
  
Destiny spoke of a united land, one where his people would be free to practice their art without fear of persecution. Destiny spoke of the end of the genocide. Destiny spoke of prophecies and coins, of kings and warlocks forever locked in eternity. Destiny spoke-  
  
Destiny was probably useless when whispered from the fiery tongue of a desperate dragon and the smoky breaths of a Druid elder who had been experimenting with far too many herbal remedies.  
  
  
  
He had an advantage over most of Camelot's finest. A servant knows all of those secretive paths that nobility would never look upon, and as the secret magical guardian of the king, he had nearly a decade's worth of experience in evading any and all souls roaming the gleaming city on a hill.  
  
  
Taking the same route he had used with a rogue Druid child so many years ago, he slipped through the castle, following intuition to sneak into his king's chambers.  
  
  
It was perhaps the last place he would be expected, but he needed to consult with him, in the desperate hope that perhaps-  
  
  
Perhaps he could talk sense into the pigheaded idiot.  
  
  
It seemed the idiot wasn't nearly as much the fool as he had anticipated, however, as he was leaning against his table with arms folded, a scowl prominent on his face and a hollowness in his eyes revealing the depth of his anguish and fury.  
  
  
  
"Why."  
  
  
A statement. Not even a question. Not that he should have anticipated otherwise.  
  
  
"I was born with it."  
  
"Rubbish."  
  
"It's true!"  
  
  
  
And without further prompting, the sorcerer's secrets were flooding out of his lips, hands rising and falling with his emotions, tears and coughs wracking his body with the raw emotions tumbling forth. The king seemed unimpressed, restraining his reactions, his features schooled into a stoic mask that eerily reminded the younger of the elder's deceased father.  
  
  
The old king, even now, tainting his son's perceptions.  
  
  
When it seemed that his fate was still sealed, the servant threw up his hands once more in frustration, releasing a growl.  
  
  
  
"You sit there judging my kind as if each of us is the same. But we're not. You're still corrupted by your father's hatred. Arthur-" He ceased his pacing, fingers falling from where they had been running through his hair, his posture straightening and a frown creasing his features.  
  
"I was born to serve you, Sire. But you've made it clear time-and-time again your feelings on the matter. Seeing as you refuse to trust me by your side any longer, I will just have to resume my duties from afar."  
  
"Merlin-"  
  
  
The doors flew open, a small battalion of knights falling through the door, swords and crossbows intended to destroy the sorcerer where he stood. Eyebrows raised, he appraised his king once more, fighting back the rush of fear, guilt, and pure agonising despair that was trying to suffocate him.  
  
  
"I would never endanger you or Camelot, Arthur. And that question that's hiding in your mind is one you'll have to answer for yourself."

The circle of kingsmen were beginning to draw nearer to him, and he sighed, eyes fluttering as he envisioned his village, his mother's warm smile, the familiar fields and forests.  
  
  
"Goodbye, my friend."  
  
  
  
And with a tug in his abdomen and a bright flash of gold in his eyes, the sorcerer fled his destiny, phantom peals of those damnable bells hissing in his ears.  
  
  
  


 

 

 

*

**Author's Note:**

> More Merlin angst, because I hate everything~! (ノ°▽°)ノ︵┻━┻
> 
> But in all seriousness, this came from listening to "The Bells of Notre Dame" too many times straight and not being able to put the words together to write the proper Disney AU for this show that's been pricking at my conscious.
> 
> So the ultimate question on Arthur's mind: what makes a monster and what makes a man?
> 
> I may write a follow-up fic, but idk tbh. I'm honestly shocked I even managed to get this one written.


End file.
